As Liverpool fans look on they see nothing like the high flying goal scoring team they watched last season and are instead forced to sit through 90 minutes just wondering where the next mistake will come from as Liverpool field a team of individuals rather than the tight knit squad everyone enjoyed watching last season with manager Brendan Rodgers even conceding that Liverpool may have to drop even further before things will start to get better.
“I think the pain is for now. I think it’s unfortunate,” he said. “It’s hard for the supporters and I understand that. It must be so difficult at the moment to see a team that for 18 months has been so fluent and dynamic.
“Now they probably look and see a team with maybe no resemblance to that in many ways. I understand that and there is no-one more frustrated than myself.”
One of the reasons for the turn in fortunes is that after selling Luis Suarez to Barcelona Liverpool invested the money in players for the future unlike Chelsea who brought in seasoned professionals.
“Chelsea obviously brought in a seasoned professional in terms of the Premier League in Fabregas. He’s a very good player. And then Costa, his profile suits the Premier League,” the Anfield boss added.
“For us, we lost a top class player and then had to bring in other players to help us now and for the future.
“Once these players settle in and adapt and really understand how we work, I think we’ll move back to where we were.
“There will be frustration now, absolutely. No-one respects that more than me. We have to work hard to get them settled and bedded in.”
Injuries to player like Daniel Sturridge and Joe Allen have not helped either along with new signings Adam Lallana, Lazar Markovic and Emre Can have all had an effect on the team also.
“We look at our game, where we’re a big threat in transition when we’ve won the ball back and we’re on the break… but we don’t look a threat on the break at the moment,” Rodgers said ruefully.
“You could argue that we don’t even play in transition. We’re getting no-one in behind, no-one breaking lines.
“Once we lose that movement and speed of Sturridge – and the link up of other people within that – that has broken the dynamic a little bit for us.
“We just have to persevere until I get the squad back – until we get Emre Can back, Joe Allen, Daniel and the others. Then I think we will return to that level.
“With so many new players coming in this year, even though they understand the ideas and the principles you still want to work with them on the field and that time has been very limited.
“We have to find ways because that won’t change and we can’t complain – we have to find other ways to put those ideas across.
“But I’ve got confidence in the new players. We believe they will be outstanding here but sometimes you can hit the ground running and sometimes it takes a wee bit of time.”
With Rodgers unlikely to have Sturridge fit for the match against West Brom he might decide to give Rickie Lambert the start ahead of the underperforming Mario Balotelli.
